-il CesareSole Absolute Triple
Exalted High Tastemaster Supreme
“In the entire world there are only a few sounds that bring joy to all but the most jaded. One is the murmur of a kitten purring. Another is the thwack of a well-pitched baseball hitting a perfectly swung bat. And the third is the pop of a cork being pulled from a bottle of wine.” —George Taber

brainchasm

7:00PM PST: First, haha, the bottle wouldn't open! Took a lot more oomph than usual to get that cork to come out, and when it did, it was all at once (and I almost spilled!).
So, first impressions - the color was the usual garnet, with a hint of brick red, and a very pale touch of violet in the meniscus.
Big fruit right up front! The only thing that broke through was the alcohol (was there port in this vintage too?). It's not biting or medicinal, but very present. First pour is fairly viscous, and the legs took a fair bit to show. First sip, it heats me up all the way to tummy like a brandy, but not bad, just not typical. It sort of smells like it was mulled a few hours prior, if that makes any sense. Main palate is stone fruit, brick dust, and a coffee note hidden down in the bottom, with a vegetal finish. Chewy tannins! Betting/hoping the coffee note steps up and goes cocoa.

7:30PM PST: Alcohol has mellowed out nicely, and is now just providing dryness. Palate is now jammy, but with mineral notes. I'm having a rather robustly-flavored dinner, but this wine completely wipes out the taste of my food (medium spicy italian sausage and rigatoni with a handmade red sauce with basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and red bell peppers). Not cooperating with the food, just washes it away.

8:30PM PST: It's really calming down now. Still has that dusty flavor, now paired with a leather note. The fruitiness is gone, and it's still dry. It never really seemed complicated/integrated, just bold and...noisy?

8:45PM PST: Coffee note came front and center in a big way!

10:30PM PST: Well, seems like it all fell apart...is just juice, alcohol, and tannins now.

And that's all I got wooters. I'm not really tempted to finish this bottle, but I may if I can do it before a reasonable hour.

Disclaimers: Zins are not my thing, and I keep none in my collection. Last year's scored roughly 87 on CT, and that number seems fitting this time around as well.

Hope I Lab Rat'd properly, and feel free to ask any questions, as I'll continue drinking for an hour or two!

bud8jr

MarkDaSpark

And only $15.66 here (for 3 plus $7 shipping). And that includes the shipping. Unlike the $18 you quote.

Less if you get more than one set.

x20

Someone has to put WD's kids thru college, but why does it have to be me! *This post is for purposes of enabling only, and does not constitute any promise of helping pay for said enabling. It does indicate willingness to assist in drinking said wine.

-il CesareSole Absolute Triple
Exalted High Tastemaster Supreme
“In the entire world there are only a few sounds that bring joy to all but the most jaded. One is the murmur of a kitten purring. Another is the thwack of a well-pitched baseball hitting a perfectly swung bat. And the third is the pop of a cork being pulled from a bottle of wine.” —George Taber

chipgreen

Have you had good luck w/Lot18? I have only placed one order with them but it didn't go very well. They charged my credit card about 1 week after placing my order but 2 weeks later and still not shipped according to my acct. info on the website. I wrote to their c/s and was told that it had definitely shipped but that tracking info wouldn't show up until the last leg of the journey.

They provided me with a tracking number and as they said, there were no updates available. I never did receive a shipment confirmation email or tracking number other than the personal response to my inquiry and the Lot18 website never updated to show that it had been shipped.

Anyway, the tracking info never updated until *after* UPS tried to deliver it to me. I was able to have it held and picked it up the next day so all's well that ends well but I am hesitant to order from Lot18 after that experience.

MichaelWB

chipgreen wrote:Have you had good luck w/Lot18? I have only placed one order with them but it didn't go very well. They charged my credit card about 1 week after placing my order but 2 weeks later and still not shipped according to my acct. info on the website. I wrote to their c/s and was told that it had definitely shipped but that tracking info wouldn't show up until the last leg of the journey.

They provided me with a tracking number and as they said, there were no updates available. I never did receive a shipment confirmation email or tracking number other than the personal response to my inquiry and the Lot18 website never updated to show that it had been shipped.

Anyway, the tracking info never updated until *after* UPS tried to deliver it to me. I was able to have it held and picked it up the next day so all's well that ends well but I am hesitant to order from Lot18 after that experience.

Never ordered before, but evidently things have gotten better from what I have read on the "New Deals on Other Wine and Accessories" thread on the other WW forum.

I hate I missed on it in the past and would love to try it..and its a good price.

mochamix79

I've had a chance to try the 2008 InZIN, and I love it! It's a littler richer than the 2007 but not sweet like the 2006. For those of you who have had the 2007 One Last Kiss Red and the 2007 InZINerator, this is the love child of the two.

For those of you picking up the Port like aroma on the nose, you're not imagining things, it's there. The Zinfandel and Syrah however give it a robust and hearty character, with mellow tannins and easy drinkability. The RS on this reads at 0.8% (like the 2007) and is not "sweet" like the 06.

ChangoSHK

mochamix79 wrote:I've had a chance to try the 2008 InZIN, and I love it! It's a littler richer than the 2007 but not sweet like the 2006. For those of you who have had the 2007 One Last Kiss Red and the 2007 InZINerator, this is the love child of the two.
[snip]

Thanks for this. I might take the plunge now because, despite its name, I loved One Last Kiss.

dfstineh

Just made my purchase there - thanks for reminding me! Never had that one but the CT reviews look great, and the shipping is free.

As for the Woot InZin, I've always been mystified as to why they can't ship that particular bottle to NC, but all other Scott Harvey seems to have permits... oh well, I got my SH fix today and my wallet thanks me.

MichaelWB

chipgreen wrote:Thanks for the reply. FWIW, this was just like 6 weeks ago when they had Twisted Oak's "The Spaniard" on sale.

Thanks for the info... that is one I looked at hard concerning buying..sounds like some awesome juice. I just bite the bullet and bough the 1869, I did click the wait till fall shipping option...so I'll see what happens.

Think I'll pass on the Inzin though... have a feeling WD has some yummyiness in store for this "opening weekend"

ChangoSHK

chipgreen wrote:Have you had good luck w/Lot18? I have only placed one order with them but it didn't go very well. [snip]

I tried Lot18 today for the first time, as I had a coupon for newbies and there's free shipping til 7am (Friday).

I can only report that it took two days for their customer service to phone regarding my question about shipping charges, but they were friendly and clear with their information. I'm hoping for better luck than you had.

Looking at their site made me really appreciate what I've gotten from wine.woot, the only place I've ever bought wine online, but clearly wine.woot won't be able to proffer Priorat.

Apathy0

disclaimer- I subscribe to a Scott Harvey WIne Club and I recently asked about the 2008 inZin wrt the 06 and 07.
This was the response:
As for the similarities, I honestly find it to be a nice blend between the
07 InZIN and the 07 One Last Kiss Red (nothing like the 06 InZIn). A
little less dry than the 07 InZIN, but not nearly as sweet as the 06, but
with that nice mellow tannin of the 07 One Last Kiss Red.

pcuccaro

dfstineh wrote:As for the Woot InZin, I've always been mystified as to why they can't ship that particular bottle to NC, but all other Scott Harvey seems to have permits... oh well, I got my SH fix today and my wallet thanks me.

North Carolina banned the wine because the label would attract minors and make them want to drink. See more info here.

Fill your glass when it is empty, empty it when it is full, never leave it empty, never leave it full.
Italian proverb

mobrien05

MichaelWB wrote:Thanks for the info... that is one I looked at hard concerning buying..sounds like some awesome juice. I just bite the bullet and bough the 1869, I did click the wait till fall shipping option...so I'll see what happens.

Think I'll pass on the Inzin though... have a feeling WD has some yummyiness in store for this "opening weekend"

ScottHarveyWines

Hi everyone, great to be back on woot. This is your wine. It was the wooters that helped develop the style when we decided to move away from the sweeter 2006 style back to the earlier styles in making the 2007. Now you're the first to be offered the 2008 on a pre-release offering only on woot. The 2007 and 2008 are similar in most aspects except the alcohol. The starting alcohol in the base blend started out higher, so when the final component was added, the Forte, it incresaed the overall alcohol by 1%. The amount of Forte is actually less in the 2008 (5%) compared to the 2007 at 6%. This wine has always been produced more in the new world style. What I like to call walk around wines. It is a wine that drinks well by it self, because Americans drink a lot of wine without food. When having the wine with food, it goes best with heavier dishes that have a sweeter sauce. Barbecued ribs with chile comes to mind. It is great with a cigar. In this vintage the wine is all Amador County. The Zinfandel is from the Bowman Vineyard, which also produces our Mt. Selection Zinfandel. The Syrah is from the York Vineyard in Fiddletown and the Forte is from the DeWitt Vineyard.

My Wife – New to reds and lover of Whites…she almost left me for Triacipedis the White and has his brother the Minotaur and sister Kaleidoscope in her sights

My Father-in-Law – The drinker of wine longer than I have been alive but now learning more about its appreciation.

My Coworker – A wine loving man never caught without an opinion and a calibrated taste for wines of many varietals…

My Co-worker’s Fiancée – Along for the ride of her life with her robust man of wonder…

Father of my Brother-in-law – Yeah, can your figure that relationship out??? A man, turned on to the Wine Woot Gods by yours truly and now cannot get enough as he builds his palate and knowledge of wines…along with his cellar.

The Main Event:

Youngest Brother of a Family etched in Time and Superherodom…InZINerator the Fourth!!! Following in the footsteps and shadow of the 2004, 2006 and 2007, comes the newest hero…the 2008!

Not to be undone…the middle brother…2007 (from my cellar) also decided to make an appearance to try and show off to the crowd.

Hot Nose
Fruit Forward – but not heavy like the 2007
Black Pepper
Cherry, Current and other Deep red fruits
Holiday Spices…Cinnamon
Tannin Bite but not overpowering
Very Drinkable and Light
Co-worker commented “New World Style”

Through the Metrokane Rabbit (aerator) looking glass…

Wow…there goes the heat right out the door…
Hello lovely black cherry, current and spice

No Go…brought the tannins screaming to the tongue in not the greatest way

Older brother…Inzinerator the 2007:

VERY different wine all together. Much more bold, much more fruit forward and with a robust port body. Pairs well almost opposite of his younger brother the 2008. Did not do much to the cheeses, did OK with the brisket, did much better with the Spicy Sausage and made the Roasted Red pepper Hummus EXPLODE to life. These two are almost Yin and Yang of Zinfandels.

Final Word…THIS ONE IS A WINNER…BUY BUY BUY.

What we have here is close to the lightness and drinkability of a Pinot with the bold cherry, current and spicy flavors of the Zin. I preferred it over the 2007 where my Coworker saw the merits of both more equal but in different ways.

Drinkability – still felt tight through the end of the bottle so my uneducated opinion would say…definitely very drinkable now with some aeration but could lay down for 6-12 months to mellow a bit. I will be buying some for sure…just need to figure out how much I can afford.

Lastly, a BIG thank you to Woot for this opportunity. I hope you all have enjoyed the musing of a first time Lab Ratter…

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